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Balanar Prium
The Plague Knight, Harbinger of Entropy, Lone Survivor of the Order of Shaluzard Age: 30 Affiliations: Order of Shaluzard Description Balanar is an imposing figure, lean and tall, foreboding in every sense of the word. Were one to peel back the layers of armor and garb that shrouds his physical form, they would find a rotting and malnourished husk. Skin pulled dangerously close over bones, a rib cage pushing out and demanding to be seen, and a gaunt face with high cheek bones. His skin has dulled away to a revolting grey, his nose broken and pulled to the right, and with no hair on his head save the mane of bright red he has tied together and twisted into a ponytail. The only true vision of him anyone will see, is the infinitesimal chance of spotting the glint of his unnaturally yellow eyes beneath his mask. Covering his form is a heavy set of platemail, rusted and corroded by time immemorial. The once proud and glistening set of silver reduced to a disgusting mixture of rusting brown and putrid green. Through out the armor arrows have penetrated and riddled its form. Yet despite these several damaging effects it holds a sturdy and powerful nature that belies its appearance. Placed throughout the armor are multiple spikes that jut and stick out throughout his shoulders, arms, legs, and back. These too are rusted and in terrible need of repairs, with the only sign of vibrancy on him being sigils and runes of red painted over its form. Laced over every exposed joint, his neck, and over distinct parts of his armor and weaponry are bandages that have fettered away to a grimey yellow, emitting a unique musk that can only be accrued through decades spent entombed underground. Draped over his back is a black cape, fading away slowly to a dull grey, and riddled with holes and tears acquired through years of combat. His helmet is shaped in a curved pattern, starting out broad and wide before growing narrower and pointier, ending in a strange beak. 3 holes on each side of his helmet are the only openings revealed in his suit of armor, and even they seem to be shrouded in darkness, empty crevasses as deep as midnight. To fully enclose the mask that is his helmet, a jaw piece, curved and shaped much like the beak of his helmet, is connected with bands of rusting metal barely held in place, and long strips of bandages lacing through the holes in his helmet. Personality Balanar is a stoic figure, who believes wholeheartedly in the concepts of truth, honor, and self sacrifice. He follows a strict code of chivalry emplaced on him by the Order of Shaluzard, a code that holds him to a higher standard than the scum and thugs that roam the world. He treats the downtrodden with kindness, follows through with his word, and never retreats from his missions. When he sets his sight on a goal he is all but fatalistic in acquiring it, no force, man or monster, can prevent him from seeking what it is he desires. Despite this, he is not naive. He believes in fear being a good motivator for the common people of the world, as it is fear that inspires them to survive and fight all the harder. He is not above using superior force and a bit of bullying to acquire what it is he wants, and when it comes to a duel he is entirely emotionless and cruel in eradicating his opponent through any means possible. He holds a special reverence for the sick and ill, treating them with great respect, and wishing to ease their burdens as much as he can. The longer one can survive with an illness, the higher he regards them, and those with a terminal sickness are practically saints in his eyes. Able to carry a gift that will be attached to them for the rest of their life. In truth, Balanar is a bit aimless at the time being. The last commands of The Order of Shaluzard was to recreate them and continue their legacy, to follow the basic principles of every disease. Thrive and multiply. Yet the collapse of The Order has suddenly gifted Balanar with a new level of freedom he has never felt before, and he now struggles constantly to decide whether or not to do as they say. Until he has decided his mind, though, Balanar has a single goal that has kept him steady. Thrive. History Little is known of Balanar's youth, even he cannot adequately remember his parents or family. Whenever he tries to reach that far back all he gets is flashes of pain in his head, snippets of a log cabin, and the suns reflection over a lake. Even their faces are all but lost to him, as he was abducted and inducted into the Order of Shaluzard at the age of 6. Within the confines of the Order he was brutally trained, put through a combat regime akin to a highly professional military force. He, alongside 5 other children, were to be the Sword of the Order, and accomplish their plans. He was trained in many fields, jousting, medicine, hand to hand combat, excavation, intimidation, interrogation, and war. Riddled throughout his training were sermons and hymns dedicated to their Dark God Shaluzard, a figure to whom all six of the children aspired to please and be blessed by. Upon the children reaching the age of 16, the Order had taken them all into an open field, and injected them with different virulent diseases. Balanar was blessed with stomach rot, and his body was turned into the decrepit form it is today. After each of them was infected, they were given a set of magical items blessed by the dark forges deep within the bowels of their hide away. Gifts from Shaluzard himself. Equipped with their finest attire, the six children-now-warriors set forth into the world. Each of them, from the moment they were inducted, were trained to find the relics of Belarom, an ancient knight and champion of Shaluzard. His armor and attire were thrown across the corners of the world, scattered after his destruction by the hands of the Plague Doctors. Each of the Warriors was assigned to find one of his mystical gear, cursed relics of terrible power, and so they set out into the world to accomplish their quest and empower the order once more. Yet it was not to be, for after years of questing, the endeavors of the Order of Shaluzard were uncovered by the Plague Doctors, and they once again established a crusade to put them down. The fighting was vicious, blood ran through the halls of their Order, and yet in the end the Order of Shaluzard was butchered to the last. Each of the 5 other warriors were put down, skewered into a million chunks and burned at the stake. All save Balanar, who through a mixture of cunning, skill, and brutal combat was able to cut his way out and survive. Now he roams the land, seeking to honor his Order, and one day fulfill his quest. Advantages *'Plague Lance 1' The first unholy magic item given to him by the Order, this lance is a weapon of true decay. It reaches out far and away, with a rotted shaft much like his own armor. The tip of it is impossibly sharp, well maintained despite its broken down appearance. Wrapped around it at the end, much like the banner of heraldry that other Knights would put at the tip of their lances, is instead a long clump of moss that trails for a good few feet. This magic lance exudes an aura of corruption, and its tip constantly drips with a deadly concoction of diseases. *'Corroded Armor 1' The second, pairing piece of gear given to him by the Order, this rotted full plate is of a sturdy and powerful nature. Flies constantly buzz around its form, ebbing and flowing like the waves of the ocean. This magical suit of armor is incredibly resistant to damage, as battle scars and cuts seem to fade away in the blur of entropy and decay that it embodies. Strapped to the back of the armor is a hulking blade, wrapped in hundreds of bandages and secured in place. Unraveled, the blade is more akin to the bastard child of an oversized meat cleaver and a greatsword, though currently it only seems to have sentimental value. *'Magical Mount 1' A sign of prowess and respect amongst the Order, this horse symbolized Balanars commanding rank amongst the 6 Knights, their Captain. The saddle on its back has been torn and stretched, made of the bloody and withered leather of a terrible beast. Wrapped around the horse are pieces of protective metal, barding to ensure it is as combat capable as its rider. Though no one would be able to tell this, as it is wrapped in layers of moss the same hue as its fur. It lacks real eyes, instead having two eye sockets filled with putrid green witch fire that flicker unnaturally. It is a wholly unnatural thing, an abomination to nature, with a mouth of peeled away skin revealing the bloody muscle underneath, and peeling further back until one reaches the tip of its mouth, which is naught but bone. The Horse is an extension of Balanar, swift, unyielding, and resistant to pain. Yet its true power comes from its ability to breathe forth a toxic cloud of miasma, flies, pestilence, and corrosive fumes. *'Plague Magic 2' The defining trait that heralded Balanars ascendancy amongst the 6 Knights, he alone was capable of the fine use of Plague Magic. A sign of Shaluzard's favor, he can spread and conjure diseases to infect living creatures with. Furthermore, Balanar's mind is a steel trap, a maze of pain and harsh training that have allowed him to be a high functioning warrior despite the taint of an Eldritch God tearing at the edge of his mind. As a result, Balanar is capable of sharing this mental sickness, infecting people with mental illnesses. Creating permanent, powerful diseases such as Schizophrenia or Bipolar require several "intense sessions" of Balanar blasting his enemy with his Mental Illness, though in a pinch Balanar can use it's more crude form of "Mind Static" and other minor mental disabilities (Throbbing Headache, mental screeching and pain, slight mind rot etc) for combat.